The Daily News. FRIDAY, JULY 17, 1914. NATIONALISATION OF HOSPITALS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 48, 17 July 1914, Page 4

The Daily News. FRIDAY, JULY 17, 1914. NATIONALISATION OF HOSPITALS.

The remit submitted to the Municipal Conference by the Petone ISorough c Cciin. il advocating that hospitals should- « be nationalised with a view to the whole ! coat being met out of general revenue, ' and the patients treated free of chargwas a proposal on pure socialistic lines. j There is much to be said on both sides— i: for and against—and tlie closeness of ' the division—tho remit bring filially r.v ( jetted by 29 to 25 rotes—showed that J the opinion of the delegates was nearly balanced on the issue. In theory, there is no donnit that common humanity demands that the sick and suffering should receive the best medical, surgical nnd nursing skill that are arailabls, but the question of free treatment is one that raises a very different problem. For the poor, and even for those in receipt of limited ihcomes which could not possibly bear the financial strain of private medical and nursing fees, the hgspitals might well be made free, but for those in better circumstances there is no reason why they should be admitted free at the cost of the. State. Under present conditions, hospital charges have frequently to be remitted, because the patients cannot afford to pay. It is the desire of some of those who can afford to pay to escape the obligation to do so tShat blocks the way to the Inauguration of free hospitals. Experience has proved that there arc many peopte Who make a point of trying to evade tlieir responsibilities, and there is no more reason why the State should relieve that well-to-do class of the onus ot paying for hospital treatment than there would be for the State to feed and clothe these people. Directly, or indirectly, everyone would contribute to fie cost of free hospitals, but that is not the question. There is a principle at stake with which it would be dangerous to tamper. With the demand fcr sufficient hospital accommodation to ensure that all who come for treatment shall bo admitted if their ailments cannot properly be attended to at their homes, there should be no cavil, but the question as to what, if any, Charge should be made should be left open, and even if some abuses crept in, it wonid he better to act in a generous rather than in a niggardly way. The vast, strides made in medical and surgical science in recent years have necessitated very expensive equipments, and it is only right that the workers who only possess limited means—sometimes none at all —should receive the benefit of the j very best skill, for their lives are just as precious to their families as are those of millionaires, and frequently of far greater usefulness to the community. The conference cannot be blamed for rejecting the remit, as the time is hardly ripe for such a project to be carried out, and there has been no pronounced . desire manifested for the change. At the MVine time, there is room for improvement in the present system, which k needs remoulding and placing on a definite basis. Every Hospital lioard makes its own rules and fixes its own charges, and in many eases Doth the rules and the charges require revising. When a worker is sick cr injured, his earning capacity is for the time beingand sometimes for a lengthy period—cut off, and the payment of heavy hospital charges is a millstone round his neck. The Boards have power to remit, and some of them act most humanely, , but others are lacking in this respect. It is this inequality of treatment that lias doubtless been a factor in the proposal to nationalise hospitals and place them all on the same basis. If all hospitals were free, there need be no fear of pauperising the people, as one of the delegates considered would be the case. The discussion may do good in opening up the question of hospital administration and charges, and thus pave the way to remedying some of the existing defects.